By Samantha Ehresman

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Honda dominated Thursday’s practice with the top four fastest speeds for the day.  Jay Howard lead the field with a lap speed of 226.774 mph, giving him the fastest speed so far in four days of practice for theIndianapolis 500.

“Everyone’s really happy. It’s like a dream start.  We all had confidence coming into this, but this is obviously a very good start,” Howard said.  “We still have a lot of work to do. Hopefully we have a long race, a very racy race, based off of what I see.”

 

It’s been six years since Howard has been behind the wheel of an IndyCar, but getting back into the groove was like riding a bike Howard said.  He said that being back at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is like a fairy tale and he happy to be driving for team owner Tony Stewart, who was on hand Thursday to witness Howard’s speed.  “I’m going to chain him up in the garage. He ain’t going nowhere. He might think he’s leaving, he ain’t,” Howard said.  “He’s going to get out to his car, he’s got flat tires. I’ve already been out there taking care of all the tires. He’s not escaping.”

Three drivers from Andretti Autosport followed closely behind Howard with Ryan Hunter-Reay at 225.826 mph, Marco Andretti at 225.709 mph, and Fernando Alonso at 225.619 mph. Hunter-Reay said that driving on the track was tricky because of traffic and wind.

Josef Newgarden crashed during practice Thursday, hitting the wall in turn two, a scary moment for a driver and something Hunter-Reay said can happen to anyone.

 

“I can tell you in traffic, with the gusting wind and everything else, one lap you go through there, you feel like Superman. The next lap, all of a sudden it will surprise you.  We’re wheeling it big-time,” Hunter-Reay said.  

Fast Friday, the final day of practice before Pole Day, begins Friday at noon. Look for even faster speeds as everyone tries to get their fastest laps in before qualifying begins.